Who doesn’t want to have a flat stomach? Let’s be honest, almost everyone has the dream of having great defined abdominal muscles. Magazines and ads are spotted with good looking boys and girls with flat, tight tummies. Unfortunately not everyone can have defined abs, and those ads perpetuate a desire to obtain those dream abs. Everyone can get a flat good looking stomach to be proud of, but maybe not washboard.
To build and maintain abs there are a few things you must do, there are three areas of getting great abs that you can’t avoid. If you want good abs, you have to do the following three things:
1. Maintain a low fat diet.
2. Do Abdominal workouts
3. Do Cardio Exercise
If you can do these three things you will have much higher chances of building and maintaining abs.
Let’s take a closer look at these three areas:
1) Low fat diet
Everyone has abdominal muscles, you just can’t always see them as they are covered in a layer of fat. This layer of fat is natural, and thus to get rid of the fat you would have to follow a low fat diet to reduce your overall body fat. The only way to see through this fat is to get rid of it. Because there is no way to target fat reduction, you would have to begin by reducing the fat all over your body. The best way to do this is through exercise, and a low fat diet.
2) Ab workouts
Beyond simply reducing your fat intake, you will need to better tone the abdominal muscles. Once you rid yourself of the fat on your stomach, you will need to have better toned muscles. Abs, like any muscle in your body, responds to being worked out. So build your stomach muscles by concentrating on some very specific and at times very difficult exercises.When you are building up our abs you will want to separate exercises into your upper abs, lower abs, and obliques.
While most of us think of great abs being a six-pack, the truth is you can get an eight, ten, or twelve pack. But this takes having almost no body fat, and having some intense workouts regularly. But, for most, unless you are a big time body builder, building and maintaining a six pack, or even just getting a flat stomach is enough.
3) Cardio exercise
While you eat a low fat diet, and do ab workouts, there is more to getting your abs to really show. You will want to build and maintain abs through combining the two with a great cardio exercise. The truth is, you will never get ripped abs or even a nice flat stomach if you don’t include a certain component of cardio vascular exercise in your workout.
The following are some great ways to build abs, and the above ways are a great way to maintain abs.
1. Crunches: Crunches are one of the best forms of ab exercises. They can be done at home, they are free, and they are effective. You can best perform crunches by lying on a flat surface with your hands either across your chest or behind your head, although it’s better to have the hands on your chest or you will be pulling your neck forward and this can cause neck strain. You then must contract your abs. Hold for 2 seconds, and return to the starting position. Crunches should be performed in a continuous and controlled fashion.
2. Lying Leg Lifts: Lying leg lifts is another great way to build and maintain abs. leg lifts will concentrate on your lower abs. You perform this exercise by lying on a flat surface and put your hands either under your buttocks, or stretch them out on either side of your body like a cross, orparallel to your body. Lift your legs up about 8 – 12 inches off the ground hold for 1 second and then let your legs down, but do not let them touch the ground. This will keep the strain on your abs and work harder and more efficiently. Continue doing this until you can do no more.
3. Reverse Crunches
Reverse crunches will work on your lower abs.You do these by lying on a flat surface and raising your legs and your head off the ground. Bring your legs towards your face and bend your legs concentrating on your lower abs. Hold the position for 1 – 2 seconds then let your legs go back to the starting position in a controlled manner.
4. Pull up Crunches
Pull up crunches work on your entire abs, both lower and upper. Pull yourself up using a Dip machine and position your arms and elbows in a ninety degree position as the rest of your body hangs below you. Then pull your legs toward your chest in a slow and controlled manner. Repeat until you feel the burn.
5. Side Crunches
Side Crunches are basically the same as regular crunches, except the main focus is on the oblique muscles (love handles).